1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to substances which inhibit yeast and mold spoilage in food and animal feed products.
2. Technology Description
Relevant Prior art may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,096,718 and 5,260,061 and the references cited therein. These patents disclose the use of certain propionic metabolites in certain foods to increase the shelf life of the resulting products.
JP 07-115950 suggests the combination of bacteriocins produced by lactic acid bacteria of propionibacterium in combination with either organic acids and their salts, fatty acid esters of polyhydric alcohols, amino acids, antibacterial peptides and proteins, polysaccharides comprising sugars, saccharic acids and amino sugars and their partial decomposition products, spices and their essential oils and plant components; and alcohols. The reference fails to suggest that the combination can be used to prevent the deterioration of foods as a result of mold and yeast (i.e., provide an antimycotic effect) by using the combination of bacteriocins with organic acids and their salts, fatty acid esters of polyhydric alcohols, amino acids, antibacterial peptides and proteins, polysaccharides comprising sugars, saccharic acids and amino sugars and their partial decomposition products, spices and their essential oils and plant components; and alcohols. The only mention in this reference in the treatment of foods having a pH of greater than 5.5, is in connection with a hamburger composition, which, by definition would not suffer from mycotic bacteria (i.e., yeast and mold spoilage).
Despite the above teachings, there still exists a need in the art for expanding the use of propionibacteria metabolites to high pH foods, animal feeds and baked goods and to use such metabolites in combination with potentiators to provide a synergistic effect on antimycotic activity.